(Akron/Tire Review) According to the Army Times, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is recalling an unknown number of Cooper Lifeliner Touring SLE radials sold through Army & Air Force Exchange Service stores in Europe. The H- and T-rated tyres, according to the report, may have a nonconforming belt wire coat stock that could lead to belt wire corrosion. Cooper said it will replace the tyres for free, the Army Times reported.
(Akron/Tire Review) Along with its third quarter report, Goodyear Tire & Rubber CO. today said that it would publish the details of its latest contract proposal to the United Steelworkers. The contract offer will appear on Goodyear’s special negotiations Web site at www.goodyearnegotiations.com. The company said it is publicly outlining its proposal “in order to more clearly communicate with its hourly associates.” Goodyear also said that its negotiating team is returning to Cincinnati “in the hopes USW representatives will return to discussions.” United Steelworkers have been on strike at 16 Goodyear plants in North America since 5 October.
Cooper Tire has given more details about how it will achieve its previously announced $100 million inventory reduction by the end of 2007. Analysts report that a recent update from the management pointed to improvement on all fronts. According to Deutsche Bank, the company has already achieved $40 million of its inventory reduction goal, and has identified approximately $34 million of its $70 million annual cost reduction target. Cooper is aiming for $170 million of total improvement from cost reductions and other initiatives.
(Akron/Tire Review) The Associated Press has reported that Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire has begun cutting employment at its Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, tyre plant, which is scheduled to close by the end of this year. Some 400 employees, said the report, will be laid off by the end of this month. In April, BFNAT announced that it would close the plant, eliminating 1,400 jobs there.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Johann Finkelmeier vice president and general manager of original equipment tyres in the company’s North American tyre unit. Finkelmeier will report to Larry Mason, Goodyear’s North American president of consumer tyres. Finkelmeier most recently served at Akebono North America as executive vice president, global strategy and business development OE/OES sales. Prior to that post he was president of ThyssenKrupp Steel North America, in Detroit.
The NTDA has launched a new updated website at www.ntda.co.uk. The professionally designed site features links to useful information including the NTDA conference report and the association’s Tyrelink scheme. It also features details of recent announcements from the NTDA, not to mention diary dates and useful links. The re-launch follows an unfortunate bout of web vandalism that saw the NTDA site temporarily hijacked by hackers at the end of September. NTDA representatives told Tyres & Accessories that the association has completely solved this problem with the new site. According to official statistics, the NTDA sites receives up 2 million hits a year from 2000 unique users each month – T&A is certainly a regular visitor.
Moody’s Investors Service has reportedly downgraded Michelin’s long-term debt rating to Baa3 from Baa2, and the short term rating to Prime-3 from Prime-2. The outlook is stable, Moody’s added in the Forbes/AFX report.
A new tyre recycling technology has been successfully tested in North Wales, leading to suggestions a new commercial-scale recycling plant will open next year. Used Tyre Distillation Research Ltd told letsrecycle.com it has opened a fully functioning pilot plant to demonstrate its new processing technology at Ruabon, near Wrexham. According to the report, plans to purchase equipment have already been made, which could scale the pilot plant at up to 17,000 tonnes annual capacity. There are also said to be hopes of developing further plants in the UK and abroad.
Overall values of the UK’s 50 leading tyre companies are on the up, rising 10 per cent in the period studied by a new Plimsoll Publishing report. 35 of the companies included have seen their values increase by a staggering 20 per cent. This is a direct result of improved profitability and a conscious effort by their managers to place their company’s on a firm financial footing. These companies are building a solid foundation to further enhance their values in 2007, the report says.
Michelin has won a significant new ‘pence per kilometre’ (PPK) contract to supply tyres to Pullman Fleet Services (PFS), which manages around 1,100 of the 1,800-strong Tesco.com home delivery fleet in the UK. The contract, previously held by Goodyear, sees Michelin Agilis tyres fitted as standard to all new vehicles joining the fleet, with tyres on existing vehicles being replaced as necessary.
TMD Friction has appointed Nafeesa Qabaz to the role of Group Pricing and Marketing Intelligence Manager. Nafeesa has managed similar functions within the UK Aftermarket for a variety of companies, most recently Federal Mogul.
Following a meeting with Olivier Gros, Michelin’s new head of two wheel tyres in UK, Bike Tyrestore is reminding dealers that there is less than a week left to place orders prior to Michelin price increase on 1 October. The French manufacturer’s two-wheel price increase will add 3.5 per cent to product prices. Wholesale representatives report that the Pilot Road and Pilot-Power are selling quickly as a result of buyers trying to beat the increase.
A new website (green-car-guide.com) designed to give drivers green motoring information includes advice on tyres. In addition to the usual suggestions of driving in the correct gear and warnings that 4×4 are not the most fuel efficient, a 17-page report on the site also advises motorists to keep an eye on their tyre pressure and condition. Interestingly the report also promotes the use of so-called eco tyres such as the ContiEcoContact and the Michelin Energy products.
Radik Ilyasov, CEO of Nizhnekamskshina, Russia’s largest tyre manufacturer, has announced plans to increase the supply of Kama Euro radial tyres to AvtoVAZ. According to a Centre Invest analyst report, Nizhnekamskshina has signed a contract with the automaker to supply all tyres for Chevrolet-Niva production, up from the 47 per cent agreed upon previously. “We believe this is good news for Nizhnekamskshina, which should now be able to gain a wider market share. Research has shown that Russian car owners tend to replace tyres with the factory-installed brand,” the report commented.
Continental AG’s executive board and “a private equity investor” have mutually halted a public takeover bid. “The Continental Executive Board has decided to make the termination of this process public to dismiss any rumours on the capital market. Continental AG did not enter into any material commitments in connection with this process,” an official company statement read. According to a Financial Times report, Bain Capital LLC led a group of private equity firms that offered to pay more than Continental’s 13 billion euro market value.
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